John of Plano Carpini (2) 

I made a template for a chapter about this envoy based on reading his travel account.

John's fact-finding mission included gleaning info about the military potential of the Mongols. The clerical "spy" was sure that the Tartars were going to attack Europe again. He suggests nothing less than a new Crusade against the steppe invaders. 

My angle of research is the data about the Mongols collected by this witness. I am hopeful to finish the draft of the chapter until next weekend. It might be useful to compare the same features as John mentions in the accounts of other travelers. I still don't know how many chapters this unit will contain. Marco Polo, in my view, is a work of fiction. I have no doubts that he made a journey to China; however, it is not a genuine account but the one doctored by the literary talent of Rusticelli.